Girls can run. Girls can shoot. But can they jump? According to a professional athletic trainer, not only can girls jump but with the proper training, they can do it without the threat of knee injury. That's something that has plagued girls more than boys according to a recent study.
"We know that girls involved in running and jumping and cutting sports basketball, volleyball, soccer are anywhere from four to five times more likely to suffer serious knee injury especially to that anterior cruciate ligament compared to boys or men in that same sport," said Laura Ramus. During the summers, Laura is the head athletic trainer for the WNBA franchise Detroit Shock.
In the off season, Ramus travels across the country educating parents and women athletes on ways to prevent devastating injuries. And her message is clear: the more girls and women learn about their unique anatomy, the less likely they are to sustain career ending blowouts.
"First of all, the level of sport has increased from when you and I played for beginners. The women jump a lot higher. They're faster and dynamically, they're moving and so I don't think we've addressed the conditioning component to deal with that. On the flip side of it, the young kids aren't as active as we were," Ramus said.
Laura's new video, Girls Can Jump, explains in great detail the differences in male and female athletic anatomy and offers a very basic summary of why this may be happening more to girls.
"When we jump and land females tend to use their quadraceps, the muscle in the front of the leg. That puts more stress on the anterior cruciate ligament. When we test the same way with men, they use their hamstring and that's key. It all focuses around the core, which are your hip muscle, your back muscles and your abdominal muscles," Ramus said.
Remember, the critical aspect of preventing injuries is education.

Once girls understand their anatomy, they can avoid some sports injuries.